


Together Forever

by Spectascopes



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bromalgamate AU, Gen, Other, Sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-22
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-02 18:50:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5259761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spectascopes/pseuds/Spectascopes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something goes very wrong. Mistakes are made, regrets are had, and things generally suck. Even if their two best friends are a goopy amalgamation that can barely speak coherently, Frisk will do anything to keep them happy until their dying day.<br/>After all, it is their fault.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Bromalgamate

**Author's Note:**

> I thought after Gaster Blaster Sans and Flowey Possession, nothing could be worse in the Undertale fandom. But lo and behold, I was very much mistaken. The bromalgamate AU easily takes the cake of "most fucked up and heart-breaking au"  
> Credit for it goes to the twisted minds of moofrog and sushinfood on tumblr  
> -  
> this is just my take on it, because when you get punched in the face by a video game it's best to make things up and try to un-punch your own face.  
> ps. Frisk is about thirteen, but arrived in the Underground when they were ten.

Alphys couldn't have known. There was no way- she was trying to help. She did the best that she could. It wasn't her fault.

You stood outside of the small room in the lab, staring up at the ceiling and taking deep breaths. You told yourself the words over and over, but you knew you could never really be prepared to go in there. But you had to. You knew that you couldn't leave them.

It had happened so suddenly. Both of them, at once- they just... stopped. They weren't dead. They weren't alive. You had no idea what caused it. Nobody did. Alphys had ran so many tests, she was so so sure that what happened before wouldn't happen again. You couldn't bring yourself to even take part in the conversation. Undyne and Toriel pressured her. They couldn't have known, either. They were saving them. You had all been trying to help them.

You steadied yourself. Alphys was being consoled by Asgore, who had yet to see the abomination in the small room. Undyne was nowhere to be found. Toriel was unwell. You had only caught a glimpse, but you knew you had to go in. They deserved that, at least.

You opened the door very slowly, careful not to make any sudden noises or movements. The inside was still brightly lit, but the tables were absent. You saw them huddled in the corner with their back to you. They made incomprehensible noises that made your heart hurt. Everything hurt. But they were hurting more, so you stepped forward. You made sure your footsteps were loud enough to hear as you walked carefully past the operating tables. You stopped while you were still a number of feet away from them. They heard you give a small cough, and their body shook, and the sad noises turned to fear.

They turned to look at you and your heart turned to stone and fell deep into your chest. They were horrifying and grotesque. The amalgamates had been one thing. This... you kept your face calm and raised a hand very slowly to wave as the four pairs of eyes met your own.

Whatever had happened, it was a mistake. It would have been better to kill them, but now that was impossible. You wanted to run away but you held firm.

Sans and Papyrus watched you in quiet fear. Their bodies had formed together, melding into dark sludge, deforming them, turning them into a terrible amalgam of two beings that should never have existed as one. They both cried. They both whimpered. The only true appendages they had, one arm a piece, were grasping each other as though for comfort.

You got to your knees to be at eye level with them. You held up both hands

“It's me, guys. Don't be scared. It's Frisk.”

It took a moment, but they seemed to understand. A garbled voice came out, mutated and strange, but it sounded quite like your name. You held back tears.

“It's okay, guys. It's okay. It's okay.”

It wasn't okay. Nothing was okay and nothing would be okay ever again. But they recognized you, and you could practically see their memories coming back to them. They moved forward, slowly and awkwardly, and although the voice was awful and made your skin crawl, you could make out what they said.

“ _Fr...isk... wha...t happ...en...en..._ ” They labored through the words and seemed ashamed. Their eyes would not meet yours. They stopped and shook and began to cry again.

You didn't want to touch them, the thought made you ill, but you moved forward and put both of your hands on the two they held together.

“Y-you guys... Alphys, Undyne, Toriel, they thought they could heal you... but... but...” you sucked in a shuddering breath. “I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. I'm sorry, Sans, Papyrus, I-I'm... sorry...”

You were sobbing. Your chest hurt. Your heart hurt. You felt like your soul would shatter and die any moment, but as you closed your eyes and lowered your head, you felt a cold hand touch your cheek.

“ _D...don... cry..._ ”

“This is all my fault. This is all my fault- I'm so sorry, I'd give anything to go back, I wish it'd been me, I-I-I did this, I thought I could- change- things-” you bawled, and soon you had to stop because your words became unintelligible. You moved forward and wrapped your arms around their stiff, sludge-y body and you held them tight. Their two heads fell against yours on either side.

“ _N...no... it... is...my... fault_ \- **Sans** \- _my fault._.. **Sans**... _all my fault_... **Sans... no**... _my fault.._.” the voice kept interrupting itself, and you were beginning to see that it was very slightly different when one or the other spoke.

“No, Sans, none of it is your fault. You... you guys didn't do anything wrong. You don't deserve this- you don't deserve to be like this- oh god... oh god...” you sobbed. You released them and stood up because you could barely stand this. The reaction was immediate.

They lurched forward in horror and held out their hands to you. “ **No** \- _no-_ **no** \- don't- **don't** _leave us_... _please... Fri_ **sk... sorry,** sorry-   _I didn't know-_ I **was a bad- brothe** r- sad- S **ans I'm sor** \- Frisk- _P-Papyrus- n_ o- no no no no-”

You realized very suddenly that you didn't care at all what you could or could not do. You saw the pain in their eyes and you went back to them and grabbed them and held as much of them as you could. “No, no, I'm not leaving, I'm right here. I'm right here, I won't leave you, you're safe. I'm here. I'm right here, okay? Sans, Papyrus, do you understand? I'm not leaving.”

“Bad- Frisk- we are bad- _cry_ \- **you're crying** \- scared- s **o scared Frisk I'm-** I'm- w _e- scared..._ ” they wailed. If the universe stopped existing you would have been happy. You hated this. You hugged them tightly and their faces found their way back to your shoulders and their hands unclasped to gently hold your back.

“Shh, shh, I'm here, I'm right here, you're okay. Don't be scared. I'll stay with you. This isn't your fault.” You sobbed, and they nuzzled their sobbing faces into your hair and whimpered.

“You... are... good. Ple _ase... leave_ \- **don't leave- us** \- I- **we- us** \- I-I...”

“I promise I won't leave. I'm right here. I've got you. I'll protect you. You're safe. You're both safe. I don't care what happens, I don't care, I'll help you. You're safe. I'm not letting go.”

Their voices seemed to battle each other, each overlapping and wobbly and very uncertain and terrified. You moved back and wiped the tears from their faces.

“Shh, shh, it's okay. One at a time- try that. Tell me what's wrong.”

There was a long moment of whimpers and breathy words that you didn't really understand, but after a little bit, the garbled voice became sorted out, and you watched Papyrus's half-melted face and held his cheek in you hand.

“ **I-I... I... can hear... Sans... brother... think. I.**..” he paused for another long moment in which his sludge-stained eyes closed as much as they physically could. “ **He... hurts..**. he is... h **urting... I never knew... I am a bad brother... so... bad... so much... pain...** ” Papyrus stopped and whimpered a long string of chatters. The other, lower voice spoke.

_“I... a-am... sorry- sorry- sorry- Papyrus, I... didn't know... not... want... to worry... about m_ e...”

“ **I should... have... you are... my... brother... I had no... no... idea.**..”

“ _Not your fault-_ _not your fault, not your fault, Papy- yrus_ \- no _no no no, not your fault, not your fault, no, no, Pap-rus- no no no no no no-_ ”

“Shh, Sans, it's okay. Sans, calm down, please, relax...” you said, because the Sans half of the amalgam was getting very worked up and their side of the mess was getting less rigid and you were getting scared.

“ _Not... his... fault..._ ” Sans cried. “N _ot, P-Pap... your fault... you... you... you should... would have been better- better- if I... if I...”_

Whatever Sans was about to say, or whatever he thought, Papyrus reacted suddenly and violently.

“ **No! No, no, no, no! No! No! S-S-San-S! No! No! No! Need you- I-** _you_ **\- need- you- no. No! N** o!” Papyrus was nearly screaming. The noise was shrill and filled you with horror.

“ _Sorry sorry sorry no no I didn't- you- didn't- P-Pap I didn't- mean- it-_ I'm sorry **sorry,** I **sorry** , sorry,” Sans sobbed. Both of them were beginning to deform. They were losing themselves.

“Stop!” you shouted, and they both looked at you in sudden fear. You held each of their cheeks and you were crying. “Stop, please, you're getting worse, please you two, please, don't fight, please... I can't lose you- I can't lose you again, please-”

Both of them froze.

“I'm so sorry I did this to you- I-I'm sorry, and I'm scared, and I don't know what to do- I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry, Sans, P-Papyrus... I'm sorry... I'm sorry for... making you... like...” you couldn't catch your breath between the sobs.

They slowly put their arms around you. You held them tight because you were terrified that they might break down and you'd never see them again. You were selfish. Any real friend would have killed them and put them out of their horrible misery.

“I can't lose you. I c-can't lose you two, I love you both, I love you, please... don't leave...”

You cried. They both cried and the sad noises were like a broken record to your ears, it hurt you so much to hear them like this, so compromised and... wrong. They were wrong. But you hugged them tightly and they hugged you back and once more they put their heads on your shoulders and they cried too. All three of you murmured and babbled things through broken sobs.

It was an hour later when Alphys came in. She found the three of you sleeping fitfully , with you between their two halves, holding both of their hands, and their heads resting against yours.

 


	2. Getting Better

You didn't leave that room for a week. There was a small side room that had a bathroom and a shower. Somebody brought you food three times a day. Alphys brought you things to sleep on, but the one night you left them alone to sleep they had nightmares and you woke up hearing them both wailing. So you all three slept together.

After the first couple of days, they became more stable. You always knew which half was attempting to speak, and when both were saying something in unison. They never stopped babbling to each other unless they were asleep, because their minds had melted together in a way, but they couldn't truly communicate through them yet. So when they spoke to one another they softly babbled little words and phrases to complete the blank spaces left in their shared mind.

The only time you left was for only a few minutes, to step outside and speak to whoever wanted you. You kept them all informed as much as you could, but none of them were ready to brave facing them yet. They all agreed that you were the best person to do it. Undyne returned four days after she left, and she had looked inside to see them. She threw up. You had to comfort the amalgam for a long while before their string of self-loathing came to an end.

The thing that was the most hard to swallow was that, even though both of them were still somewhat separate, and could think independently, their minds had been permanently altered. They couldn't think like they used to, and sometimes they took a long time to get out complicated words. Their mental capacity had shrunk. But, despite everything, you weren't going to give up on them. After the initial shock and horror wore off, you knew they were still your best friends, and you knew that things weren't quite so bad as they had first seemed.

“Papyrus, what's your favorite book called?” you asked, nestled between the two of them with their hands clasped over your stomach.

“ **Peek... a-boo...** with **fluffy- bunny**!” he said, and you smiled at him. They seemed content to just sit and hold you, and you were more than willing to oblige them.

“ _What... ab-out... compl...ple... plex puzzle_ s?” Sans stumbled over his words.

“ **Oh... you... are right,** bro **ther** ,” Papyrus said slowly. “ **That one... good too.** ”

“Hey, Sans, Papyrus, do you think you want to see some of the others sometime soon? They're all really really worried about you two.”

They were silent for a long while before they gave you a small squeeze and spoke together. They'd began doing this so they could both agree on something to say before they both tried to speak at once.

“ _ **We would... frigh-t-ten them...**_ ”

“No you won't, I promise. You guys are about as scary as a kitten in a sweater.”

They both laughed a little bit, and it made you feel so much better. You loved hearing them laugh, because it was genuine, and it meant that they were still happy.

“ _ **Who**_?” they asked together.

“Who do you guys want to see first?”

Another long pause, accompanied by a bit of soft murmuring between the two. After a minutes silence, they decided.

“ _Pap... wants to... see Undyne_ ,” Sans said.

“That sounds perfect. When do you want to see her, Papyrus?”

Silence for a couple of seconds. “ **May...be- now?”**

“Alright, sounds like plan. Can I go and get her?”

There was a slight whimper, so you twisted around and hugged the place where their neck most likely was.

“Don't worry, I'll only be gone for five minutes, then I'll come right back.”

_**“O... kay...”** _

You patted both of their heads. “I used to be the one that begged you guys to stay, guess I'm getting a taste of my own medicine now, huh?” You laughed a little bit. “I'm just kidding. I'll stay with you guys as long as you want me to and then some.”

You pulled away and saw them give smiles. You had to get used to it, because it warped their faces even more and looked like something from a nightmare, but you knew it now, and you hugged them again.

“Be on your best behavior, alright you two? Undyne's been worried sick about you, so she's probably going to get a little emotional. She hasn't really seen you guys like this, but I'll be right here with you in case anything happens.”

They nodded to the best of their abilities, and the larger head moved forward and ever so gently touched his forehead to yours. You kissed Papyrus's head first, and then moved over and gave Sans a kiss too. You untangled yourself from their warm embrace and patted their held hands.

“Okay, she's staying in the lab, so I'll just go get her and tell her you want to see her. She might be sleeping, I don't know what time it is, but I'll be back as soon as possible.”

“ _Bye kid_ ,” Sans's half said, and it was one of the most coherent things he'd said so far. You smiled and jogged to the door, waving as you pulled it open and exited the small room.

Alphys was waiting outside. There was a camera in the room that Papyrus and Sans didn't know about, so she knew what was happening most of the time. She gave you a melancholy look.

“How are they today?” She asked quietly.

“They're getting better and better,” you said.

“Th-that's good,” Alphys breathed, but you knew she was still blaming herself. You put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.

“Do you want me to tell you the truth?” you asked as the two of you began to walk to Undyne's room.

“I-I-I... I'm not sure...”

“They aren't in any pain,” you said, and Alphys froze halfway down the hall. She looked at you like you had slapped her across the face, but you pressed on.

“They aren't. I've asked more than once, and they never are. They get sad sometimes, because they know what happened, but they're both still alive and they remember who they were. Earlier today Sans made a pun, and Papyrus used his hand to shoo him away.”

“But...”

“No buts, Alphys, things are getting better, and they're going to keep getting better. They're adjusting, that's all. They'll probably never be completely themselves again, but they aren't in any pain and they're safe and they're... well, not happy, I'd say, but something close to it.”

“What if U-Undyne makes the-e-em upset?”

“She won't.” We stopped at the end of the hall, where the series of lab rooms led off into the main lab. “I'll wait here, you go get her, okay? I'll talk to her before she goes in.”

Alphys looked at you. Her eyes were red, and you knew she was going through a very hard time. But after a second, she gave a worried sigh, and nodded. You watched her get in the elevator and go.

You of course had no idea what seeing Undyne would be like for them, or what it'd do to her, either. After she'd ran from them, it _had_ made things worse, but it also gave you an opportunity to talk to them about being... well, them. You didn't lie to them, you told them that they looked a lot different, and much more frightening. But they already knew that.

What you did know was that staying in isolation wasn't going to help them. The first week you could understand, and if they had said no today, you wouldn't have pressured them. But they seemed ready, and they needed their other friends.

When the elevator dinged again, Undyne was standing with Alphys. She looked anxious and nervous as she slouched over and held her girlfriend's hand.

They both stepped out, and Undyne gave you a wobbly grin. “Hey, twerp, I guess... I guess I get to see them?”

“Papyrus asked to see you,” you explained as Undyne came over to you. Alphys looked away and got back in the elevator and left without another word. You didn't blame her.

Undyne didn't look well. Her hair was pulled up like it almost always was, but it was messy and looked unwashed. Her clothes were rumpled and dirty, and you wouldn't question if she said she hadn't changed them since the incident happened. She looked down at you with a haunting grin.

“Kid, I don't know... what if I mess this up? I don't want to make things worse...”

You shook your head. “It's alright, I'll be in there with you. Have you watched them on the camera at all?”

Undyne looked away and rubbed her arm. “No... I was too much of a pansy. I bet they don't want to see me after I royally fucked up the first time...”

“No, they want to see you, trust me. At least, Papyrus really wants to. Sans probably won't talk much. His voice is a little bit rougher than Papyrus's.”

“Oh my god, I'm going to make things worse, aren't I?” Undyne held her head in her hands. “What if I throw up again? What if I can't handle it? I'm such an awful friend, I shouldn't be so scared of them, but-”

“No matter what happens, just stay in the room. They talk slow, so be patient, but don't treat them like children. They know. When I asked if they wanted anybody to visit, they weren't sure. They both were afraid that they would frighten anybody that came in.”

Undyne swallowed. You reached up and took one of her hands.

“It's not as bad as it seems. Are you ready?”

Undyne just nodded. You gave her a reassuring smile as the two of you walked to the door. You opened it slowly and saw them where you left them, quietly babbling to one another. When they saw you, they perked up.

 **“Six!** ” Papyrus chirped.

 _“Minutes...”_ Sans added.

You stepped inside with Undyne close behind. They shrunk away as she entered, but you held up your free hand.

“Did you guys really count? I didn't realize how popular I was.”

They didn't say much of anything as you walked over with Undyne's hand in yours. You stopped a few feet in front of them and sat. Undyne followed wordlessly.

Sans kind of shrunk away, which you could understand. Papyrus looked away for a little bit before he met Undyne's eyes.

“ **Hi... Un... dyne...** ”

“Hey Papyrus,” she said in a forced voice. “It's, uh, great to see you!”

Papyrus didn't say anything. He looked at you. You gave him a small smile, and he spoke shyly.

“ **How... are yo** _u_?”

“Been better, I guess,” Undyne said. She was trying so hard, but her smile was failing the more she looked at the two of them. She probably didn't notice, but Papyrus was starting to get uneasy. Their facial expressions were much more subtle.

“I'm, uh... I'm sorry for what I did the other day,” she said as she reached up and rubbed her muscular neck. “It was pretty awful, wasn't it?”

Papyrus looked down at his and Sans's hands. You saw tears in his eyes as he remembered it. Sans, who was trying his best to hide his face, stared off into space with a sad, sad look in his eyes.

Papyrus spoke again, but his voice was very soft, and garbled, and you were impressed that Undyne could make sense of it.

“ **I-I...m, sorry... for scar-ing you...** ” Papyrus said very slowly. **“You don... t** _have... to stay.._.” he broke off to sniffle before he looked up at her again. “ **I... I... I know... we're... not..**. I _know that._.. w **e're... bad.**..”

All at once, Undyne released your hand and flung herself forward, wrapping both of them in her arms. Papyrus seemed frightened for a moment before he understood what was happening.

“You think you scare me, punk?” Undyne cried. “if you ever go and die on me again I'm gonna find you and punch your face in! And your brother's too! I thought you were dead, you numbskulls, do you even know how much I cried?”

She broke off to sob, and Papyrus's hand very carefully wrapped around her. After a second, Sans's did too.

“It's gonna take a lot from you two to make it up to me, making me worry like that. So you better keep getting better or Frisk is gonna tell me, and I'll kick your butts! What do you two have to say for yourselves?”

There was a bit of a pause, and you could see their body shaking.

“ _Papyrus._.. **will... do m-my best..**.”

“What about you, Sans? You big lazy trashbag?”

“ _I-I-If we... d-ie... there... are al-ways plen-t-y... o-of other... fish in... the... sea,_ ” Sans said, and then laughed a little.

“Oh my god!” Undyne bawled, hugging them even tighter before she gave them both noogies. “That so isn't funny, Sans!”

“It was kind of funny,” you said as you giggled.

“ _Fr-isk... get...s it..._ ” Sans said. There was still a laugh in his voice.

“ **Bad... joke, brother..**.” Papyrus groaned.

Undyne seemed like she couldn't pick between laughing and crying. She buried her head against Papyrus's, and brought Sans's head over to join the cuddle as well. She chose crying.

You stayed away as they hugged. Undyne was sobbing, and Papyrus was crying a little, but it wasn't sad crying.

“I thought I lost you two,” Undyne whimpered, and their hands tightened on her back as she cried.

 


	3. Let It Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to everybody who read and enjoyed this story so far, I honestly wrote the first chapter without the intent of continuing it, but the positive feedback really made me want to keep writing. So, be warned, this may not be super well-planned and perfect, but I do have a direction and an idea for the 'ending', and it won't be that long of a fanfiction. Maybe five more chapters?   
> _______  
> Also, if you want to send me prompts or suggestions that I will likely write because I have no life outside of the internet, you can send them to my tumblr, theperfecta

“So then, after I beat the shit out of this little monster punk who was making fun of Snowdrake and his mom, I took them both back to my house!” Undyne said. She was sitting across from Sans and Papyrus and telling them about things they'd missed. They had all stopped crying, and Undyne seemed so relieved to find out that things were okay.

“That little runt has really been working on his jokes,” Undyne continued, “I even laughed at a few of them. Mrs. Drake was having a wonderful time, you guys will have to see her, she's so much better than she was before. Her and the Vegetoids have an agreement, she eats what they want and stays healthy and they're content to live vi... shit, what's the word? Vi...”

“ _Car... ious... ly_?” Sans offered.

“Yeah, that's the one! Vicariously. It took a while, but she's happy now, and so is Snowdrake, and so I expect the same thing from you two! I'll be back here anytime you want me back, and we're going to train that brain of yours to work how you want it to. Got it?”

“ _ **Got... it,**_ ” they both said together. Undyne grinned, and you were happy to see that it wasn't forced.

Undyne looked at you for a moment. You were sitting so you formed a triangle with the three of them, because you didn't want to interrupt that much, but now the Guard was giving you a really big look.

“You guys are pretty damn lucky to have this human with you, y'know that? Damn kid hasn't left you guys alone for a minute. They've got guts.”

“ _ **Lucky..**_.” they both repeated as they looked at you.

“So lucky. Frisk, these losers have been appreciating all of your hard work, right?”

You smiled for a second before you looked at the ground. Papyrus's hand reached over and touched your shoulder. You gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“This is just what friends do. They gave me a home, food...” you looked over the two of them and saw their melty eyes go soft. “... they gave me a family, y'know?”

When you looked at Undyne, she looked like she had stars in her eyes. The bromalgamate scooted over and grabbed you and snuggled you close, and you laughed as they ruffled your hair and Sans leaned down and bonked his head against yours.

“Look what you did, Frisk, you got me all emotional!” Undyne said before she socked you on the arm.

“ **We love, you too,** ” Papyrus said, and it came out and it almost sounded like his voice before the combining. “ _You're a... a real champ,_ ” Sans said.

“That sounded like your voices!” Undyne nearly shouted as she flew forward and took part in the hug. “Friendship is more powerful than I could have ever imagined!”

“ **Ouch,** ” Papyrus groaned, “ **your hugs... are s-strong... as ever,** ” he said, and Undyne punched his arm and laughed, knocking her head against his, and then Sans's as well.

“You're damn right they are!”

“ _Guess... you...ve got... lot a-a- mussels,_ ” Sans stammered.

“ **Ah!** ” Papyrus said, “ **Bro-ther! If- we... we're going... work this- no more puns!”**

“ _C-can't... make... any promise...s_ ” Sans leaned his head against his brothers. “ _Is... isn't- that- that- a little-_ **No! Don't say it! S-an-s! No!** _Shell..._ **No!** _...fish...?”_

You laughed at them. Undyne snorted and you all hugged it out for a little while. You were happy. Sans and Papyrus were happy.

Undyne left after a good half hour of hugging and chatting. She said she'd be back tomorrow, and you believed her. The bros said their goodbyes, and you were proud of how well they were adapting to their shared body and mind.

You leaned against them in silence after Undyne was gone. You felt a hand start playing with your hair. Neither of them had ever done that before. It made a thought occur to you.

“Hey, guys?” you said quietly.

_“Hm **m**?”_

“Do you still want me to call you Sans and Papyrus?”

They didn't say anything for a moment. Or a minute. You didn't look at them, because you knew the question wasn't going to be easy to answer. They technically weren't two different people anymore. But, at the same time, they kind of were. When an answer came, they both said it together.

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me what's going on in your head?” you asked. The atmosphere was very calm. You were getting a little tired, but not enough to go go bed yet. They seemed worn out as well. “It doesn't have to make sense, y'know, just let out whatever you want to. I don't want you guys to have to think about everything before you say it. Just... just go for it, okay? Tell me what you guys think, about all of this, and everything else."

“ _O_ **kay** _Frisk_ ,” they said, kind of together, but not really. They took a little bit, maybe to compose themselves, and then started talking.

**“I think we are** \- _I think I am_ \- **_getting_** **better** - _good_ \- **_at this_** \- **we** \- _I still talk over- him_ \- **and we-** _I am scared to_ - **worried to** \- _let things out as they are_ \- s **ay things like they come** \- _because it isn't-_ **not what we- did** _before-_ _and people might-_ **our friends will** \- _**worry**_ \- _and I'm_ - **we're both-** _embarrassed-_ **ashamed** _about not bein_ g- **no longer being** \- **us** \- _Sans and Papyrus_ \- **we do not-** _don't- I-_ **we** \- _Papyrus-_ **S- brother** - _I- bro-_ ” they stopped suddenly and their body froze for a second. You stiffened, afraid, but then they rested a hand on your head.

“ _ **I think... that... we're both scared... and confused... but we have you... and our friends... and we both want to make this work. We both want to make this work.**_ ” Their words sounded nearly normal, but it was a voice that seemed strange yet unbelievably familiar.

_**“Frisk, we want to make this work. Papyrus and Sans, they aren't really here anymore, are they?**_ **It's us.** _Or... **me.**_ **_I don't know which one._** **Both?** _Neither?_ **Brother-** _bro-_ **Sans-** _Pap-_ **_we'll figure this out, okay? We'll figure it out_** t _ogether, bro,_ **brother,** **lazybones**...” they paused as their voices began to separate again, and they held you very close. _“Frisk_ - **Human** _-_ _kid._.. **_thank you. Thank you_**... **thank you so** _much. God, kid,_ **human, yo** u... t _his is so hard_ \- **difficult-** t _o see._ **We-** _I-_ **he died, didn't _we?_** **You watched-** _thought it was your- **fault.** **But you- kid-**_ **human** _you didn't leave our sides-_ e **ven though-** i _f- it hurt you_. **Thank you.** _**Thank you so much, Frisk,** kid_ , **thank you Human, _thank you-_** ”

They started to cry and held you very tightly. You hugged them back twice as hard.

“Come on you guys, don't cry, cause then I'll cry, and it'll just be a big sad mess.” They sniffled, but one of their hands patted your head before they went in for a big sloppy embrace.

You let them hug it out, and you somehow knew that they weren't just hugging you- they were holding each other, too. You let out a deep breath and fell into your familiar place against their big goopy mess of a body. You didn't know you were falling asleep until you already were.

 


	4. All Your Fault

You woke long before they did. You didn't move, because they were holding you tightly and sleeping with peaceful looks on their messy faces. When they slept they let their half-formed body kind of melt, so you were partially enclosed in friend-goop. It had a strange texture, it moved and flowed, but was firm and not at all sticky.

You sat and had nothing to do but listen to your own thoughts. You didn't like it. If they hadn't just been through a hard time, you would've woken them up, but they deserved some rest. They needed a lot of it to conserve their energy. But while you were alone, a voice you knew all too well made its way into your mind.

Chara really wasn't going easy on you while you slept. They liked to poke and prod and mock you, but that was just what they did. Now they had something juicy to latch on to and they weren't going to let it go without a fight.

You could reset. You looked down at your hands as the amalgam of your best friends breathed softly in their sleep. You could reset, and you could go back, and maybe change all of this. As soon as the thought hit your waking mind, Chara was there to make it ten times worse.

_Frisk, come on, Frisk, just reset already. Look at these two, they're horrifying. Better off dead, I'd say. It's your fault, Frisk, you could have reset when they fell and tried to save them, but you didn't do anything. You're real selfish, Frisk._

You didn't have the energy to deal with Chara, so you snuggled in against your friends and listened to their raspy breathing instead. Still, Chara was right. Well, maybe not right, but they had a point. You could've reset. You still could. All the years you'd spent with them would be obliterated, their memories would be wiped, but you might be able to stop this from happening.

_What's a few more years for your best friends, Frisk? You used to do it all the time! Remember that time you killed Toriel- you reset so quick I didn't even have time to enjoy it! And the time you hurt Papyrus on accident, and Sans hated you, you reset just because you wanted people to like you. Haha! Nobody would like you if they knew all the bad things you've done, Frisk._

“Shut up, Chara,” you whispered.

_Aw, poor Frisk, you don't even want to think about it. Sure, you never killed anybody on purpose, but instead of owning up to your mistakes you made your little playthings live the same life for who knows how long, just so you could be happy! I lost count after twenty five, but man, you used to reset so much. Now you're stingy because you don't want to have to repeat three years. Too stingy to help your friends. Too stingy to stop them from becoming this._

“I said shut up,” you said again.

_And I said no! You're no better than the Frisk that started all of this, y'know. You think resetting is bad now, but you know you have to. What a choice! Reset and take away everything you've lived for, or watch these two live a life of suffering because you think you've got 'morals' or something. Reset! Kill them, put them out of their misery, and reset! You've still got it in you, I know you do. Reset and keep resetting until you decide to be a real human and kill them all! Reset, Frisk! Reset and make them happy again! Reset! Reset! Reset!_

“Stop it!” you shouted, and it made Sans and Papyrus wake with a jolt.

“I'm sorry, I- I didn't mean to wake you up” you said. You rubbed your head. “I, uh... I was just talking to myself.”

_Reset! Reset! Reset!_

“Are... you okay?” they asked, still a bit sleepy.

_Reset! Listen to them, they're pathetic! Reset! Reset! Reset!_

“I... uh, sorry, I...” you stared at them and their goopy faces and their sad eyes and their pleading looks.

_Save them! Reset! Reset!_

“ _ **Fr-isk-**_ ” they began, but Chara's voice was too loud, and you stumbled away and grabbed at your head.

“Chara I said shut up!” you shouted at nothing. “Go away!”

_Look at how scared they are! They think you're yelling at them! They're nothing more than shells! Reset!_

“They're still them! It-it isn't my fault! I didn't do this to them!”

_You could've saved them! You could do it! It's your fault, Frisk, it's all your fault!_

You fell to your knees as you tried to make it to the door. It had never been this bad before. Chara was cackling and it felt like they were prodding your mind with hot irons.

“It's not my fault,” you whimpered. “I don't want to reset anymore. Leave me alone.”

_You don't even care about them, do you? You've been using them this whole time._

“No...”

_Then reset. Do it. Right now._

“I don't wa-ant to reset, Chara, I just...”

_Nobody really wants anything. Reset. It'll make this all go away for a while. Don't you want that, Frisk? For this to go away? For them to disappear?_

“I-I just want to help... “

_Reset._

“There... has to be another way, Chara-”

_There isn't. Reset._

You felt the determination in your gut, and as soon as it came Chara started pushing you with everything they had. You couldn't look at Sans and Papyrus. What if... you could save them?

There it was. The option was right in front of you. Reset. You heard a strangled noise from the amalgam as Chara nearly cried with excitement.

_Yes, do it, do it, Frisk! Reset! Reset! Do it, now, don't think, just do it!_

_“Fr-isk no! No!”_

Your eyes snapped open and you whirled around to see Sans's half of the amalgam reaching his hand to you. There was a kind of terror you'd never seen on his face.

“ _Don't lis-ten to them, this i-i-isn't your fau-lt Fr **isk**_ **!** ” Sans said, but Papyrus's confusion was starting to riddle its way into his voice.

_Don't listen to him, he's insane! Reset, and he'll be Sans again! He'll look like Sans, he'll talk like Sans, reset! Reset Frisk!_

“ **Reset-** _don't reset-_ **what?** \- _ple-ase don't-don't reset?_ **Reset** \- _Pap stop- don't reset Frisk!”_

The horror in Sans's voice made Chara's chattering fade. His eyes were wider than you'd ever seen them, and he was shaking. Papyrus's half was murmuring nonsense to itself, holding its head in its hands as Sans watched you like you were about to kill him.

“ **Reset-** **Sans- brother-** r **eset-what? S** a **ns what- lab- lied- me- reset?** _Pap- not now- stop-_ **Sans?** _Pap-”_

_Damnit! Stop listening to them! Reset!_

You watched Sans and Papyrus try to battle for dominance for a few seconds. Sans was crying and his arm was pushing at his brother while Papyrus looked upset and angry.

“ _Frisk- don't reset-_ **Sans how could** \- _**you** can't reset-_ **what?** **You lied to me-** _Frisk don't please don't_ \- **don't ignore me**!” Sans's voice was suddenly much stronger than it had been before. His eye flashed blue for a second. Papyrus's flashed orange.

“Oh my god...” you whimpered, watching them. They were fighting. Their body was reacting violently to it, and they both moved around and one second Sans would be on top of Papyrus's vague half and the next Pap would engulf him and hit him and they'd go at it again. Sans had been hiding something from his brother. You swallowed but your throat was too dry.

“ **Sans how could you! Sans- I trust you, Sans!** _Don't reset Frisk please don't-_ **Sans why didn't you-** _don't reset don't reset don't reset-_ **I could have helped!”**

You rose to your feet just as Papyrus's half won the struggle for dominance. Sans seemed to melt to the floor away from Papyrus. His face could barely be called a face as his brother towered over him, with two arms, more well formed than you'd ever seen him.

 _“D-d-don-t-don-t r-r-e-set-set-set-don-t-set-rest_ ” a barely intelligible voice whimpered. Sans cowered against the floor.

“Stop it! Stop fighting!” you shouted, and ran at them. You were going to grab Papyrus so he couldn't hurt his brother, but he turned and you saw a bright orange flash and you felt your body being thrown but as soon as you hit the wall everything went black.

 


	5. Guilt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things get better for a few chapters before great googly moogly it all goes to shit  
> 

“Shit, Frisk wake up, Frisk please wake up,”

“Undyne, they're unconscious, they'll be okay.”

“How did this happen? They'd never hurt Frisk-”

“It must have been an accident.”

“Toriel this is one hell of an accident, the kid could've died!”

You heard the conversation like it was through a door. You tried to open your eyes, but the light hurt, so you just clenched your fist and groaned. Your head was killing you.

“Oh thank goodness, Frisk, you're awake,” a familiar voice said. You cracked one of your eyes open and saw Toriel watching you gently. She reached down and placed a soft hand on yours. “Are you alright? How do you feel?”

“My head hurts,” you croaked. You reached up a hand to rub it, but you stopped when you saw the two of them looking at you like they'd seen a ghost.

“What?” you asked. Toriel looked away while Undyne grit her teeth.

“I'm going down there,” Undyne said, but as she moved to go Toriel grabbed her wrist.

“Please, Undyne, it wasn't their fault. You know they would never intentionally harm Frisk. We don't know-”

“It wasn't 'them,' Tori, it was Papyrus,” Undyne growled. She cracked her knuckles. “And nobody gets away with hurting my friends, even if its another one of my friends.”

You attempted to jump out of the bed, but nearly toppled over. Sans and Papyrus- you looked around wildly but you weren't in the room.

“Where are they? What happened to them-”

Toriel caught you as you fell and held you. “They are okay, Frisk, do not attempt to walk yet. You might have a concussion.”

“No, I need to go back right now,” you insisted and tried to pull away from her, but she held you firm.

“It isn't safe yet.”

You shoved her away, and maybe she got the message, but the way her eyes fell made you regret it immediately.

“He didn't mean to hurt me, he was fighting with Sans and I- I thought I could stop them-”

Toriel allowed you to stand. Undyne watched with a deep frown. You had to lean on Toriel's arm to stay upright.

“We know he did not mean to harm you, child, but...”

“He did,” Undyne cut in, and this time when you looked at her you could see just how angry she was. “You could be dead because of them.”

You stopped fighting, but stayed leaning against your friend-mom. She took one of your shoulders and gave it a gentle pat.

“They are very very upset, Frisk,” she explained quietly. “Dr. Alphys attempted to talk to them, but... she had little success.”

“If they see I'm alright-”

“You aren't going in there alone,” Undyne interrupted. “If something happened to you in there, I'd... I don't know.”

“I need to go. I don't care who comes with me. I need to.” You were starting to get frantic, and your friends saw that.

“... Alright. If you relax and drink some water, we will go. All three of us.”

You nodded feverishly and Toriel gently put you back on the bed. Your head felt like it was on fire, but thankfully the pain was keeping Chara out of it.

You all but chugged the water. Did Sans still think you were going to reset? He'd been so scared. What about Papyrus? You swallowed when you thought about Papyrus.

Toriel all but carried you back down to the room. Undyne stalked beside the two of you like a guard. Which, she was. A Royal Guard. Alphys met you in the hall leading off of the elevator, and Asgore stood behind her. You hadn't seen the King in a while- he looked very worried.

“Ah, you're okay,” he said, but Toriel shot him a look and he was quiet. You kind of felt bad for the guy.

“Th-they're not doing w-well,” Alphys reported. She looked very tired and defeated. “You were out for almost twelve ho-ours, Frisk.”

“What are they saying?”

“The magic messed with the camera's mic, we don't know. They've been using a lot of magic, though. They w-won't talk to a-any of us.”

You didn't say anything as you wiggled out of Toriel's arms and approached the door.

“Frisk, somebody sh-should go i-in with you,” Alphys said.

“I'm going,” Undyne said. Her voice was low.

“You can't say anything,” you said. Her anger was making you nervous. You looked her in the eyes, and she seemed unimpressed for a moment.

It faded quickly. She must have seen the determination in your eyes, and the warning. If she tried to hurt them, she would pay for it. In the back of your head, you knew she likely wouldn't, but you stared her down until she let out an annoyed breath and looked away.

“Yeah, whatever.”

The others all backed up. You realized very suddenly that they were all very lost and confused, even more than you were. They didn't know what to do with Sans and Papyrus- they were scared of messing up. You took a moment to stare at the door before you opened it and stepped inside with Undyne right behind you.

They were crying. They seemed somewhat formed again, which filled you with relief, but they were sobbing violently in the corner. You stood for a moment and listened to the sniffles and sharp breaths. You looked at Undyne and motioned for her to stay where she was. She looked pissed, but didn't argue.

You took a few soft steps closer. It was impossible that they hadn't heard you, but as you approached you could hear Sans speaking.

“ _Sorry... sorry... Pap, sorry, Papyrus, please, it-it wasn't... was an accident... you..._ ”

“ **Bad. Bad, bad, bad, bad,** ” was all Papyrus whimpered. Their combined bodies were shivering. “ **Hurt them. Bad. Hurt them. Hhhh... hhhh...**.”

He was panting in an attempt to get enough air into their body. Sans seemed to be trying to help his brother, but Papyrus went on whimpering to himself no matter what Sans did. As you approached, Sans's head turned and spotted you limping closer.

Their body froze, and suddenly Papyrus's breathing stopped. Sans's face was even more disfigured and sad than it had been before. When he opened his mouth, black goop came out, only to fuse back into their body.

Papyrus turned very very slowly. When you saw his face, you wanted to recoil, but you stayed where you were. It could barely be called a face. His one eye was little more than a black smudge, while the other was burning orange. The sludge oozed from his mouth to a degree that he no longer had a chin.

It was like watching a lost and abused puppy. They backed away from you, shrinking low to the ground. Sans seemed reluctant, but Papyrus must have still been the one in control.

“ **Y...ou**.. _. are... ok_ - **ay..**.” Papyrus mangled the syllables, but you could understand.

“I'm okay,” you said. “I'm fine.”

Papyrus just wailed. He was saying something, but you couldn't understand a word, and he shrunk as far away from you as possible. It was something a hurt child would do and it made your heart ache watching him. Their body may have been formed, but Papyrus was besides himself with guilt. You took a step closer and he reacted by pressing himself and his unwilling brother into the corner.

“ **No, n..o, I-I... I coul..d hurt you- no- stay away-”** Papyrus grabbed his head in his hand. “ **So sorry- I-I'm so-so... sorry, Fr... Frisk- I'm so sorry- Frisk- I'm so sorry Frisk I'm sorry Frisk-”**

His words became incoherent, and he made a noise that made your heart turn cold. You took a step closer while Sans watched in fear. It seemed like he couldn't use their voice.

“No, Papyrus, it's okay. It was an accident, it wasn't your fault.” You held up your hands and advanced slowly.

“ **No- o no! I ca-n't- hu-rt you! No! No!** ”

You paused. You could hear Undyne behind you. Her breathing was heavy and she may have been crying. You got down on one knee.

“Papyrus, it's okay, you're okay. It's going to be okay. Accidents happen. Friends make mistakes, but that's okay. Please, try to calm down.”

“ **I di-din't mean to-o-to... to do it,** ” he choked out in a garbled mess. “ **I- was- I was- so scared- bad, bad- bad, thought you- were- thought I- no no no, human, no, n-o no no-** ”

“Papyrus, I'm right here. I'm okay- it was an accident, Papyrus, you didn't mean to.”

“ **I-I... I... thou-ght you... thought you were- dead,** ” Papyrus whimpered, and it made tears well up in your eyes. “ **Thought you- were dead. I.. thought... I killed- you.** ”

You couldn't stand it any more. You moved forward, and Papyrus didn't move away. He grabbed you so tight that the air was squeezed out of your lungs, but you didn't need it anyways. You held him and his brother just as hard. Their voice became more steady as Papyrus began to calm down.

“ **So sorry- I'm so- sorry, Frisk- Sans- so sorry, I'm- I'm- so sorry...** ” his grip tightened. It felt like he was holding himself together by keeping you in his arms. He was quiet.

 _“S'okay... Pap, okay... I-I'm sorry, for, lying.”_ Sans's voice was stronger now. Whatever he'd been hiding deep inside must have caused him to be worse off than his brother, but now that it was out, he seemed more stable.

Undyne left after that, and by that time you knew she was crying. Papyrus refused to let you go for a very long time, even when he and his brother tried to work through what had been kept from one another.

It was a long and complicated process that took place partly in their mind, and partly out loud. You knew parts of it, so you could piece it together. You'd known that Sans was somewhat aware of the timelines and the resets. How much he knew, you only learned as he tried his best to explain to Papyrus why he'd been hiding it from him for so long. You couldn't follow the exact word order, but you worked with what you had.

“ _Thought... I was pr-otecting you, Pap, I... was, wrong. Should... told you. I'm so... rry, bro._ ” Sans said. Their balance was normal again, Papyrus was no longer dominating over his brother in their fusion.

Papyrus didn't say anything out loud, but he leaned his head over, and they met in the middle, and stayed like that. On your back, their hands moved so they were on top of one another. The orange in Papyrus's eye had faded completely.

They must have figured it out. You wished you knew what had happened, but at the same time you were happy that they could communicate privately. You were happy just to see them content and peaceful.

You had a feeling that things were going to get a lot better now that they were both being honest with each other. It must have taken so much effort for Sans to hide himself from his brother. It was insane how much they loved each other.

Another set of arms found your back. The brothers seemed surprised for a moment to have another pair of limbs, but they just adjusted so that one of their hands held the back of your head gently to their chest.

 


	6. Game Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's only four chapters left after this...

“Sans, do you know why the skeleton did not attend the party that he was invited to?” Toriel asked. She was sitting with a growing smile on her face as Papyrus groaned loudly, slapping himself in the cheek with one of their four arms. Sans, however, was grinning.

“ _I dunno... Tor, why_?”

“Because... he didn't have anyBODY to go with!”

A mixture of a cackle and a moan of agony escaped them, and Toriel laughed as Papyrus's half threw his head back.

“ **Why... do you hate me, brother?** ”

You giggled. It had been three weeks since the incident, and things were getting better by the day. Toriel had came in to see them and was probably the most well-suited to entertain them. She was very motherly, and during the first few weeks that was something the brothers really needed. Of course, Papyrus pretended to hate all of her jokes, but you knew he really didn't.

“That doesn't even make sense!” Undyne protested. She was sitting in a chair a few feet away. The bromalgamate had grown confident enough to move about the lab to some degree, and Alphys had modified one of the larger rooms into a place for them, as well as you. It was much more homely than the small lab room you were in before.

“Yeah,” I said, playing along. “I mean, they do have a body...”

Toriel shook her head. “Oh, don't be so serious.”

“ _Yeah, I thought it was... pretty humerus_ ,” Sans said, and that elicited a noise of protest from his brother, as well as a gentle pap to the face. Sans snapped his fingers to the best of his ability.

“ **We're... barely a skeleton, S-ans** ,” Papyrus said. Sans shrugged, but he was still smiling. Their faces looked almost like they had before, only a bit more goopy.

When other people were around, they spoke as Sans and Papyrus. Even when the three (two?) of you were alone, they still did it a lot. But over the last week, they'd begun to let their thoughts and emotions run together more and more. You weren't at all sure how to feel about it, but when they acted as one their words came out smoother and they seemed far more confident. Was it like losing both of them, or getting one super skeleton? You didn't know how you felt, you just knew you'd support them in whatever they chose.

“So, you two, we were thinking about having a game night later,” Undyne said, and Toriel clapped her hands.

“Oh! Yes, indeed, I almost forgot the point of our visit. We would be delighted if you would join us in the main lab for some fun.”

There was a moment of hesitation, so Undyne picked up where Toriel had left off.

“Don't worry, it'll just be us and Alphys and Mettaton. Okay, Mettaton is still a maybe, the jerk wants to do a show, but it'll be a lot of fun. There will be puzzles,” she said, giving Papyrus a raised eyebrow. His interest was grabbed. “And... I think even some japes.”

The two brothers looked at each other. Papyrus was the first to give his two cents.

“ **I think we... should go! I-It would be fun, brother.** ”

Sans gave his brother a little dirty look, but he sighed non-verbally and nodded. “ _Heh... okay. If Pap goes then... I guess I-I'll go, too._ ”

You laughed while Papyrus gave his brother a long groan.

“Awesome!” Undyne said, and she sat up straight in her chair and looked at you. “Frisk, you're coming too, right?”

You looked at her for a second. You wanted to very much. She seemed surprised at your silence. Toriel seemed concerned.

“Child, is something troubling you? You love game nights...”

You held up your hands. “Oh no, I'm fine! I was just thinking about something, sorry. I'll be there. Somebody has to keep these two in check,” you said, and elbowed Sans and Papyrus. They laughed a bit.

Undyne and Toriel stayed for a while longer, contented with your answer. Undyne gave both brothers a noogie before she left, while Toriel leaned down and gave them goodbye kisses. Sans seemed a bit flustered, which Papyrus was very aware of, because he kept giving his brother the shittiest of grins and wiggling his eyebrows.

When they were gone, you didn't say much. You felt two hands touch your arm.

“ _Frisk..._ **are you okay?** ” they asked.

“Yeah... yeah, I'm fine, guys, just tired.”

“ _Is..._ **_is it Chara?_** ”

You looked away. After the fight, you'd came clean to them about the resets and timelines and everything you'd done. It had taken a little while, but once you were all on the same page, things were better. Papyrus knew about his brother's secrets, and they both knew about yours. You were hesitant to tell them about Chara, but having somebody else who knew made you feel a lot better.

“ _ **It is Chara**_ ,” they concluded.

“They're just being a jerk, like they always are,” you said. “I haven't been sleeping very well.”

“ _ **Is there anything we can do**_?”

You sighed and scooted over to lean against them. “No, it's alright. They'll give up eventually. They knew I'm not going to reset again and they're angry about it. It just sort of sucks.”

The amalgam hugged you. “ _ **I'm here for you, Frisk.**_ ”

There it was- singular, but neither of their voices. It was so bittersweet, knowing that the person they were becoming was neither of them and both, but also the most stable thing they could muster.

“I know,” you said back, and gave one of their hands a squeeze. “They just keep trying to tell me that it's my fault, and... I don't know.”

“ ** _It's not your fault,_** ” they said. Was it singular or plural? “ _ **You saved me. Us.**_ **Sans** and _Papyrus_. **_If you hadn't been here from the beginning, we... probably wouldn't be here._** ”

“I know it isn't.”

“ ** _Then why not come to game night?”_**

“I...” you swallowed and looked at the ground. They saw your reluctance and put hands on your shoulders.

“ _ **You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's okay.**_ ” They put their heads down and gave you a weird little skeleton-kiss.

“I caused them so much pain, y'know, when I was resetting and jumping timelines and listening to what Chara told me to do. I killed Toriel, and it... it's hard to look at her sometimes. Knowing what I've done.” You stopped, because you weren't going to cry.

They didn't say anything for a little bit. You knew that you couldn't excuse your actions before. You were still you, in your right mind, you were just young and naïve and Chara took advantage of it.

“ ** _You could still be doing that stuff,_** ” they said after a little silence. “ ** _But, you know its wrong. You've gotten a lot stronger_** , _kiddo.”_

You nodded.

“ ** _You don't have to play the games if you go- we'll be on your team_**. **Sans is super duper smart...** _and Pap is practically the puzzle master,_ ” Sans finished. Their voices had split again. You sat for a moment, letting the love in their voice comfort you. They loved themselves so much, and they loved you, too. It was nice.

“Okay. You've convinced me.”

 

“Ha! Suck it, Papyrus, I'm the Queen of Mario Kart!”

“ **Undyne,”** Papyrus whined, but Sans was giggling. “ **No fair! Sans stinks!** ”

“You're just a sore loser, Pap! Haha!” Undyne stood on the couch in triumph. Papyrus and Sans, Undyne, Toriel, and Mettaton were all playing Mario Kart while you, Alphys, and Asgore watched from the other couch that wasn't facing the large computer screen.

“Oh my, I didn't realize we were competing,” Toriel said. She was laughing as Undyne grabbed Papyrus and Sans around their goopy necks and cackled.

“Darling, please don't stand on the upholstery,” Mettaton said. He was still a bit nervous around the bromalgamate, but he was getting better.

“Shut up, Metta-to-good-for-us, I'll stand on it as much as I want!”

Even Papyrus laughed at Undyne's joke, although he seemed ashamed of it after it happened. She let go of them and returned to her seat right behind them. She sat beside Mettaton on the couch while Toriel and Sans and Papyrus were on the floor. Mettaton gave her a sour look.

“Fine. Another race, then, and this time I'll show you who the real star is.”

You watched them in dull happiness. Alphys and Asgore both seemed amused, but the doctor had her phone out and she was showing the King some videos, explaining video games and Mario Kart and other things he wasn't very up-to-date on.

Alphys hadn't seemed herself for the last few hours of gaming fun. She wouldn't look at Sans and Papyrus for more than a few seconds, which you could understand, but it was more than that. She wasn't saying all that much, either.

Another round of Mario Kart commenced, and the shouting began. Papyrus did most of the talking, which included yelling at his brother for messing up. They were surprisingly good, considering they were sharing control of a single body, but Sans thought it was funny to mess up on purpose.

Asgore excused himself for a moment, so you and Alphys were left on the couch. Nobody paid you much attention, because Mettaton was currently in the lead and Undyne was not happy about it. Even Toriel was getting involved.

You looked over your friend and saw her watching Sans and Papyrus with a sad face. She saw you looking and immediately brightened up.

“Oh, I-I'm sorry, I wasn't paying a-attention, did you s-say something?”

“Are you okay? You've been staring at them for a while.” You kept your voice quiet enough that only the two of you could hear it.

Alphys's eyes widened. She looked away and began to stutter something, but then stopped. She looked right into your eyes.

“There's... something I-I need to talk to you about. I didn't want to tell you before I had to, but... but i-it's wrong to keep it hidden.”

Your blood went cold. She sounded defeated. You reached over and put a hand on hers, but she looked away.

“Let's go t-to my lab, okay?”

 

You followed her to her personal lab, deep underground, where the amalgamates had been created. It had been remodeled and fixed up since you'd been there, so the corridors weren't so lonely and dark when you walked down them together.

You were going to throw up because you were so worried. Something bad was about to happen and you knew it. Chara tried to mess with you, but you already had enough nervous thoughts of your own.

Alphys went into the heart of the lab, which had been turned into a research chamber. You recognized some of the things around the room from your first visit. You saw a picture of Sans and Papyrus on one of the tables and you froze.

“Frisk, p-please don't be upset... I wanted to tell you, b-but they needed you more-”

“I'm not. I just want to know what's happening.”

Alphys took a few heavy steps over and sat down in her chair. You pulled one over and sat across from her. You reached over and picked up the picture of your friends before they'd merged.

“I-I-I've been doing research,” she said. She was very quiet and played with her claws while she spoke. “I thought... maybe there was a w-way to f-fix them.”

“Did you find anything?”

“No. I-If we did split them up a-again, they'd die in minutes. But I... I did some tests on the others- the amalgamates- and... and I'm not sure how l-long their fusion is going to... to be able to sustain itself.”

You blinked. It took a second for her words to hit you.

“What?”

She stared at the floor. “I-I'm sorry, Frisk, I didn't want to tell you... I was trying t-to find a way to fix it, but... but I-I can't. Not without making things much worse.”

You stood up from the chair. Alphys cringed.

“What are you saying?”

“I-I can't say for certain, we barely know anything about this, but... but... Sans and Papyrus, they... their fusion isn't s-stable. They...”

“What? They what? Alphys, answer me.”

The doctor was crying. Your heart was pounding so hard it nearly beat its way out of your chest. She sobbed before she looked up at you. Her face was full of pain.

“I-I-I'm so sorry, Frisk.”

“Alphys!” She flinched at the desperation in your voice.

“I-If my calculations a-are correct... they...” she stopped to swallow and choke back a sob. “Their bodies c-c-can't handle the s-stress, b-because there's only t-two of them- they- they-” Alphys was shaking.

“They're g-going to die.”

 


	7. Giving Up

You stayed down there for a long time. It wasn't like it was a surprise to you. You'd suspected that they wouldn't live for very long, but hearing it spoken made every drop of blood in your body turn to ice. Alphys had the sense to leave the room.

You'd been protecting yourself from the thoughts for as long as you could. There was something about the way that they moved, the way they spoke... it made you wonder how much longer they could do it. Things had improved, but never enough for you to push the doubts from your mind. Sans and Papyrus were existing as something that shouldn't have been alive. They both should have been dead. It made sense that the amalgam would decompose and break down after so long.

You didn't cry, you just sat on the cold floor and stared into space. You were ashamed that you couldn't do more for Alphys- she was a mess, a bawling mess, but you just let her leave without a word. She still blamed herself for what had happened, even though the blame was entirely yours. Sans had mentioned one day that resetting the timeline could cause things to become unstable. He had said it in response to you asking about the weather. You hadn't put it together that all the resetting could've caused their falls because even Sans hadn't been thinking that. But now you had a dark and creeping theory in your mind, and it stopped you from moving to comfort Alphys. So you just stared at the ground.

_You're kind of fucked up, aren't you?_

When Chara's voice came, you didn't react. You'd expected that. You were actually surprised they'd stayed away for as long as they had.

“I'm not resetting,” you whispered.

_Getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren't we? I didn't even say anything._

“I won't...”

_Listen to you, kid, you're ten levels of messed up. I just want this all to be erased and even I know that those two are going to kick the bucket any day._

“Go away,” you breathed.

_Hey, pull yourself together and stop hating yourself long enough for me to talk to you, freak._

“Chara I said leave!” you shouted. “Get out!”

_Stop screaming, kid! Holy shit, do you want that lizard to come back in here? I want to actually talk to you. Can you pull yourself out of the depths of your own self pity long enough to do that?_

You stopped. Chara almost never tried to actually talk to you. They'd been in your head since the beginning, but they only tried to manipulate you into doing what they wanted. They were like a demon. You'd almost never considered them their own person.

_There, that's better. Let me get right to the point, kid; I know damn well you aren't going to reset, no matter what I do to you._

Your breath caught in your throat.

_Yeah, that's right, I might be tenacious, but I'm not an idiot. I know you, and I know you know this all happened because of us resetting. Timeline got unstable, things happened, one thing led to another, and boom, your two best pals have numbered days._

“What do you want?”

_That's a pretty loaded question, don't you think, kiddo? I want lots of things. Let me tell you a story, bud. Pay attention, cause it's about me, and I'm the most important part of this scenario._

You didn't have the strength to argue with Chara. You just let them go on.

_I know a lot of things. Back when I was hanging around in limbo for who knows how long, I got mixed up with the wrong crowd. I didn't know shit about timelines or resets or saves until I was dead. Until you came along, I was a soul just hanging out by my body, not ready to die, doing whatever I wanted._

_Then you came along, and what do you know! I've got partial ownership of a new body and I didn't owe anybody a single penny. Thing is, a million you's came along in a million different timelines, and I've got a vast knowledge of those you's. I'm kind of omnipotent when it comes to Frisks. I've got connections. I know almost every path you've went down, either thanks to me taking control of your body or you going insane because I won't leave you alone. In some timelines I'm not even able to talk to you, and you live happily ever after, and never reset!_

“What are you saying,” you said slowly.

_I'm saying I know a lost cause when I see one. The bromalgamate was my last shot at this timeline, and I gotta say, I didn't see it coming. This is the first one I've encountered that this has happened in! But that know-it-all garbage can talked you out of resetting and now I know you won't do it, no matter what I say. You know too much._

“So what? You're going to leave me alone?”

_Don't count your chickens, pal. But I spent enough time doing absolutely nothing to know that it isn't a walk in the park. I've got two options left in this timeline- I can live out my days trapped in your fucked up head, or I can get the fuck out of dodge and join a splinter of me somewhere else. I've got connections. But I can't leave your head until you kick me out, and there's only a handful of Frisk's that've figured out how to do that._

You listened. What were they talking about? What did this have to do with Sans and Papyrus?

_Are those two skele-bothers the only thing you ever think about? I guess it doesn't matter to me, Sans is a load of garbage, and Papyrus is barely tolerable. You gonna let me finish?_

You nodded.

_You've got a lot of determination. I've got a lot of determination. These monsters don't know how damn powerful we really are, kid. We're like gods. If we put our powers together, we can do anything. Some of the Frisk's figured that out. You can use me, bud. I'm like a power source. And how do you get a power source to die?_

You stared at the ground as your eyes widened. You could practically see the smirk on Chara's face.

_You use it all up._

Chara left you alone, just like that, as soon as they'd come. You were staring wildly at the ground as you clenched your fists and considered their vague words. Gods... you didn't dare let yourself truly consider what they said. They had to be lying, right? It couldn't be true, they were trying to get you to reset. Were they really suggesting you could...?

You didn't know how to react to anything, so you pushed the thoughts out of your mind and stood up. Alphys was sitting outside of the true lab, curled up in a chair, crying. When she saw you walk out, she wiped her face, but came nowhere near to composing herself.

“F-Frisk, I-I-I'm sorry for leaving- you-”

You walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, it's alright, I got worked up.”

She stared at you like she was seeing a ghost, but swallowed. “Y-You... you aren't... upset?”

“I'm kind of numb, to be honest,” you said before you sat down in the chair beside her. “I sort of knew they didn't have too long left, though. I just didn't realize it was that short.”

“I-I-I promise I'll keep l-looking for a way to f-fix them, I-I-I won't give up!”

“Sans knew about the determination experiments, didn't he?” you asked. Alphys flinched, but she still nodded gently.

“Y-yes... he knew.”

“They both know, then, Alphys. Sans and Papyrus both know they don't have a long life ahead of them.”

Tears welled in her eyes again. “Oh, this i-i-i-is all my fault! This i-is all my fault, Frisk, I-I'm so sorry-”

You reached across the arms of the chair and hugged her. She desperately clawed at you while she sobbed.

“Shh, Alphys, this isn't your fault. None of this is your fault. If you hadn't injected them, they would both be dead right now. You gave them some time. Now they'll have a chance to say goodbye, properly, y'know.”

She was a mess. Tears and snot moistened your back, but you held her and patted the back of her head while she cried. You should have done more for her while all of this had been going on, but you were too busy with yourself to really think about it.

It took her a while to calm down. She didn't let go of you for a long time, but you didn't mind. Eventually, she pulled away and sniffled.

“I-I'm sorry... I know you've got it worse than a-any of us...”

That made your heart ache, because you knew that as much as you could deny it, it was true.

“I-I'm going to keep searching,” Alphys said. “Just in case there i-is a way. You can tell whoever you want to, I won't tell anybody else... this sh-should be your decision. They need you.”

You nodded but had to swallow to keep yourself in check. They did need you, and it made you sad. “Do you know how long they have?”

“I-I can't be sure... but... my best guess i-is a month.”

You nodded. It really did hurt to think about this, but you'd been so emotionally strained the last month that you could barely comprehend anything anymore.

You thought about Chara's words again, and waited for them to say anything else, but they didn't.

For the first time you kind of wished they would.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't post the last chapter and then not post this one, it would be cruel. Only three more chapters now!  
> \--  
> I like the idea of Chara being like a demon who is haunting somebody- they can talk to Frisk, but ultimately Frisk is in control. Actually it's kind of like the concept of Ava's Demon (Read it. The creator actually designed Muffet- and the overall atmosphere and theme is sorta similar! It's one helluva web comic)


	8. Prelude

You didn't tell anybody. Sans and Papyrus were happy and they were finally interacting with the others at the lab, even going out of their way to say hi and be social. You thought about distancing yourself from them, to make it easier, but that thought died about five seconds after you had it. You knew you could never. So you put on your best face and pretended like everything was alright.

An entire two weeks passed, and nothing went wrong. Alphys spoke with you more often, and you found out a lot of darker things about her that before you could only guess at. For her sake, you explained the timelines, and the resets, and the saves. She seemed surprised at first, but after you told her everything, the evidence was hard for her to disprove. You didn't tell her about Chara. Chara didn't speak to you, either.

The brothers knew that something was wrong, but they seemed to understand. They didn't press you. They were happy themselves, but when they found you staring aimlessly at the wall in the middle of the night, they didn't ask you why. They only came over and comforted you, and you held them and hoped that if you did it hard enough they would never leave.

You were sitting in the room you shared with them, playing on a handheld game system Alphys had given you. Papyrus and Sans were resting peacefully. They weren't sleeping. They liked to do that, just sit and relax and let themselves melt into each other. You'd asked them about it. They- singular or plural 'they' you weren't sure- told you that it was like a hug, but with your body and mind.

You looked at them for a moment before you turned off your game and hopped from the bed. They noticed you go, but didn't say anything.

You had taken to short walks around the lab now that your friends didn't depend on you so heavily. This time, it was for an express purpose. Your eyes gleamed with something you hadn't decided on identifying yet.

You went to the True Lab, because you knew that nobody was ever down there. Alphys was out with Undyne, but Mettaton was filming in the main lab, so you wanted to be where nobody could hear you.

The elevator ride was long and boring. When it dinged and you stepped out into the dimness of the unused lab, you stood in quiet for a second.

“Chara, I know you're listening. I want to talk to you.”

There was no response.

You sighed. You did this almost every day, and you always got the same response. It was like they were gone, but you could feel them listening and watching. They were just being a jerk.

“Will saying please help?” you said to the open air.

_No._

You were surprised at the lack of malice in their voice. You weren't used to it.

“I want to talk to you about what you said a couple weeks ago,” you began.

_...Alright._

Again, the normality of their voice unnerved you.

“Do you _want_ me to use you up?”

Chara didn't say anything for a while. You walked over and sat down on the little bench that was outside of Alphys's DT lab. You waited.

_Kid, I've been thinking a lot lately. This is the longest you've gone without resetting, and the other me's from different timelines haven't been very active. I don't have the normal violence and excitement to keep me occupied. So I been listening to your thoughts more._

You blinked. Chara went on.

_You're a real idiot, kid._ You groaned, but Chara pressed forward. _Don't take that the wrong way. Everybody is. Compared to me, you guys are all like newborn babies crying about needing their nasty diapers changed. I've got a comprehensive understanding of every me that's ever existed- lets call it a perk of being so damn determined._

“Oh...” you said. You hadn't thought about it like that before.

_Yeah, of course you haven't, because to you Asgore is old. Compared to me, that dumb King is just starting to walk. To think I used to call him dad! Ha!_ Chara stopped for a second. _Well, that's not important, I doubt you'll be able to wrap your head around most of this shit anyways. The point is, I'm tired, I've been listening to your pansy-ass thoughts, and there's nothing left for me here. Ya get it?_

You did get it. You'd felt similarly before.

_Is that pity I sense? Oh, wow, Frisk, please. Lets not make this personal. This isn't your conventional suicide plot. Even if this me dies I'll still be alive in a hundred other places, and all those me's know exactly what I do. Don't bring anything sappy into this._

For once you were happy to do what Chara said.

_But my answer is yes. Use me up. I'll let you pick what for, cause I'll be too dead to see it. But fair warning- once I'm gone, you won't be able to save and reset anymore._

“That's alright.”

_Then do what you want, kid. Whatever you do, this is the last time I'm gonna waste my time talking to ya._ Chara stopped and laughed a little bit. You were quiet.

_It's funny. Out of all the Frisk's and Chara's out there, this might be the timeline where we've ever made a truce like this. Most Frisk's kill me without consent when they find out they can._

“I can kind of understand why they would,” you said.

Chara laughed. It was a genuine bark of laughter that caught you by surprise. _Shit, kid, that was harsh. But true. Don't take it personally, I just have big plans and you were easy to possess._

“It's kind of personal.”

_I guess sharing a body is always gonna be a little personal, huh?_

You didn't say anything. After a short pause, you heard a deep sigh in your mind.

_Well, that's all I've got. You know how to wield my power. When you decide what god-like trick you want to pull, just hit me up. Try to make it snappy, alright? I'm not really dying, but sitting around and waiting to not exist is pretty depressing._

Chara was done. Your relationship was based singularly on hatred and betrayal. You didn't trust Chara for anything, but they had never outright and plainly lied to you before. They weren't good at it. You knew they weren't trying to trick you.

“Thanks, Chara,” you said softly.

You could feel the disgust coming from inside of you. _Don't even start this horse-shit, kid. I'm out of here._

That was the last time you ever spoke to your demon.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters more now! I want to post all of this and get it done, tbh ^^


	9. Death

Alphys's predication was completely accurate. A month had passed since game night, and things took a very sudden turn for the absolute worst. To everybody aside from Alphys and yourself, it was a shock.

They refused to leave their room. You knew they were in a lot of pain, and so you couldn't blame them. The others stayed away after you gave Alphys the go-ahead to tell them the bad news. They must have thought they had more time than they did. You didn't want to leave the amalgam long enough to tell them otherwise. It was sort of selfish, but you couldn't find it in yourself to care.

You sat in their arms and pretended you couldn't feel them shaking. It had been two days since the pain had erupted, and since then their once-good form had been lost. They were once again a babbling pile of sludge on the floor that could barely support itself. They didn't talk much. You knew it couldn't be long.

You held their hand in your lap and stroked it gently. They only had one arm now, and you couldn't tell if it had once belonged to Sans or his brother. They still had their separate heads, but they were more unrecognizable than they'd ever been.

“I'm here,” you said as they tensed up and flinched in pain. Their hand squeezed yours tightly as a broken sob escaped them.

“I'm right here, guys. I'm here,” you continued. It was like they needed you- like you were the only thing keeping them together. They held you tightly and leaned into you and nearly engulfed you, but you didn't mind at all.

“ **F** r _... isk_ ,” they whimpered. You refused to let your tears fall. “ **It.. _._ _hurts._**..”

In an attempt to protect themselves from the pain, their minds had retreated, and so their emotions were amplified. The only thing you could compare it to was speaking to a little kid, but it wasn't at all like that. You didn't know what it was like. All you knew was that it made your heart ache and your eyes wet.

“I know it does, it's okay. It'll be over soon. I'm right here.”

“ **d-don'** t... _want.._. _**to die**_...”

You could feel it- it was happening. You had to stay strong. You had to stay strong, for them. This was all for them.

“It's okay, guys, it'll be like sleeping. It won't hurt anymore. I promise.”

“ _d-do_ **n't wa.**. ** _nt to.._**.”

You swallowed, but you had nothing to say. What the hell were you supposed to say? They were dying and it was all your fault. You'd messed with time, you'd refused to reset, you'd done this to them. The tears were falling.

“I know. I'm sorry. I-I'm so sorry, guys.”

“ **N** _o...n... **ngg**_ h...”

You were terrified. You were terrified of the thought of them not existing anymore, and you were terrified of what might happen if you did what you thought Chara was suggesting. You shifted in their grip, and they must have thought you were doing something else. They let out an agonizing whimper.

“ _N-no,_ **please... _d...don't l_** _ea-v_ **e**...”

“Shh, it's okay, I won't. I won't leave you guys. I'm right here. I'll always be right here,” you said, but the words were broken by little sobs.

“ _D..on'_ **t... l** _eav **e..**_.” they cried. God it hurt so much. You shifted so that you were hugging them, and their hand found your back.

“I'm right here. Can you feel me? I'm here. I'm right here, guys, it's okay.”

“ _ **...scared...”** _ they whimpered. “ _ **hurts**_... **h...** _urts._..”

Suddenly their body tensed and a noise of pain escaped them. It was like an animal- it was like the noise a dying animal would make.

It was happening. You could feel it- their body was getting softer and deteriorating. They held onto you as they wailed.

You were hyperventilating. You grabbed as much of them as you possibly could and tried to hold them together. You couldn't do this- you couldn't lose them again. You heard the door open as their terrible noises went on, but you didn't care.

“N-no- no, you guys, no- this can't be happening- this isn't real-” you sobbed. They stopped wailing as they melted away into nothing more than sludge. Your whole body was burning- your eyes were blinded with tears.

 **“F.**. _r... **is...k..**_.” they whimpered. “ **w** _e **.**_ **.. l**. _.lo. **.ve... y** **ou...”**_

You felt like your heart was being gripped by a vice as you saw their souls. They were going to shatter- they shook and trembled. Their body was barely more than a puddle. You couldn't breathe, or move, you just stared down at the puddle of your friends and their dying souls.

It was all your fault. It was all your fault that this had happened- you were killing them. You were the reason they were dying. Their dust would be on your hands.

You felt the feeling in your body. It was hot and fiery and it _hurt_. You just wanted them to be okay again. You didn't care about yourself- you could be dead for all you cared. You weren't ready for them to die. You couldn't let them go.

You heard somebody scream. Or it might have been multiple people. When you let that feeling consume you and your drying friends, all that was left was black.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> but who died?


	10. A Different Kind of Amalgam

It felt like you were dead. You couldn't really think or move or see or hear or feel, but you were aware that you _were._ It was really an odd sensation. You felt calm, almost, drifting through the void. You swear you saw somebody there, and when you saw him, he seemed surprised. The void-man faded away as suddenly as he appeared, which was to say, quite softly and slowly and without a distinct ending or beginning.

When you finally managed to pry your eyes open, the dim light was enough to make you shut them again. You decided, in your fuzzy state of mind, that it was better to rest for a while. So you did. You thought you heard some people talking around you, but you weren't sure.

You did notice one thing, though, and that was the lack of another presence in your head. The space they'd taken wasn't gone, though, it felt like something else had moved in. You weren't too worried about it. You were content to lay and not remember. For some reason, you felt like something bad had happened.

You went back to sleep.

 

When you came to again, you got your eyes all the way open. There was a few blissful moments of quiet and peace, when you didn't remember anything. But your head felt a little bit cramped, in a good way, and that made you think of Chara, and suddenly you remembered everything.

You sat up. Your muscles were stiff and you'd been drooling. Sans and Papyrus... you felt like you were crying, but your face was dry. Was that how it was going to be until you could pull yourself together? It was awful. You wanted to nestle against your friends, but then you remembered that they were dead.

Toriel came in ten minutes later. There was a clock on the wall, and you tried to distract your thoughts by counting down the seconds with the little hand. When your friend saw you sitting up and staring at nothing, she was hesitant to come over.

“Frisk? Are... are you alright, child?”

You blinked and looked over at your friend. You hadn't really noticed her, but now that you were looking you were pulled back to the present.

Oh. You weren't dead. You forgot you had a life to live even after you'd been through hell.

You didn't say anything, just nodded slowly. The monster looked more than a little worried. She closed the space between the two of you and bent to give your forehead a very gentle kiss.

“How do you feel?”

“A little stiff,” you said.

“I can imagine, my child... you've been unconscious for two days,” Toriel said gently. You moved over a little so she could sit next to you.

“I figured. I was feeling pretty loopy there for a while.”

She smiled. Strange, you thought. Even after what had happened, the smile was genuine. The elephant in the room was ignored, though.

“You almost died. I was so worried, child. I'm very glad that you're okay.”

“Yeah,” you said, but you had to look away. Was she just going to pretend like nothing had happened? Like they weren't gone?

She laid her hand on yours. “I know you are weak, and perhaps you would like to rest, but when you're ready there is something I would like to show you.”

You looked at her very slowly. Your mind was cautious. Was it a joke, maybe? To lighten the mood? You couldn't think of anything remotely important to be seen.

You untangled yourself from the blankets and stood up. You were stiff and sore, but that was about it. Toriel helped you get dressed, and made you drink a cup of water before you went with her. She was soft and gentle and warm.

“I love you,” you said. Toriel's eyes went wide.

“Frisk...”

“You're the best mom I've ever had. And I do love you. I thought I should tell you. Sorry if that's weird.”

She stared at you for a moment longer before her face melted into a soft smile.

“No, that is not at all weird. I love you as well, child. Very much so.”

You tried to smile back, but it just wouldn't come out the way you wanted it to. Your eyes fell back to the floor as Toriel gave you another fuzzy forehead kiss and took your hand to lead you out of the room.

Undyne was sitting outside in an uncomfortable-looking wooden chair. She was snoring loudly. Toriel tapped her shoulder, and she woke with a start.

“Wha- where's the bad guys?” she blabbed before she saw the two of you standing there.

“Frisk! You're awake! And you're okay!” She shouted. She hugged you tight to her chest before she picked you up under the armpits and held you above her head like you were her cub and all of the Sahara was watching.

“I can't believe it, kid! How did-”

Toriel coughed very loudly. Undyne stopped and set you down, which you were glad for (your whole body kind of hurt) before she blushed.

“Oh! Oh, well, uh...” she trailed off.

“Frisk is very weak and sore,” Toriel explained.

Undyne blinked, looked from you to her, and then nodded. “Oh, y-yeah! I'm sorry about that, runt, I got a little too excited to see you.”

You knew something was up. You stared at her blankly before you looked up at Toriel and took her hand again. She knew.

“Undyne, I'm going to show Frisk something. Would you like to come along?”

“Yup!” Undyne said a little too quickly. Your gut was twisting. Something was wrong. They weren't telling you something.

You walked with them towards the main lab. You met a few people along the way, but you stared blankly ahead. Whatever was happening, you had to know. It was killing you not to.

You arrived in the main lab area. Toriel stopped and got in front of you. She crouched down and put her hands on your shoulder.

“Frisk, I cannot tell you how proud I am of you. You are good, child. So much more so than I thought.”

You stared into her eyes. Those big watery red eyes. They had so much love in them.

“Yeah, kid!” Undyne said from behind you. She stepped over beside Toriel to give you two thumbs-up. “You're the real deal. I never thought I'd meet somebody even more of a weenie than Asgore... and I never thought I'd meet someone with twice the heart!” she gave you a very gentle fake punch to the shoulder.

“Thanks, guys,” you said, but you knew something was very wrong here. This didn't make sense under the circumstances. They were acting strangely.

They must have seen your confusion, because Toriel cleared her throat a little bit. “I can tell you are unsure, child, and I am sorry our behavior has worried you so. Alphys and Asgore are in the main lab- they will be able to explain things better than us,” she said softly.

You took one of her hands for a second and looked her deep in the eyes. She gave a small noise that was almost like a coo. You looked at Undyne and she flashed you a toothy grin.

They parted to let you through. You took a few steps forward and the door to the lab slid open. You stepped inside.

Asgore and Alphys were sitting on the floor with their backs to you. They appeared to be doing something, but you couldn't guess what. They were speaking. Asgore's big figure blocked you from seeing anything in front of them.

You walked forward very slowly. You were only a few feet away when they heard you. Alphys turned to look first, and her face lit up like Christmas when she saw you. Asgore noticed her, and then turned his head. You were distracted for a moment by the warmth in his smile. Then he turned his body more, and suddenly you could see what was in front of them just as they saw you.

Your heart skipped more than one beat. It might have stopped altogether. Your mind was suddenly filled to the brim with emotions too pure to understand, some your own, and others...

Two little skeletons ran forward faster than you could understand and jumped you. You fell to the floor, because your knees were too weak to stand, and you heard them both start shouting at once.

“Frisk! Frisk! You're okay!”

“I've got a 'bone' to pick with you! We thought you were dead!”

You didn't understand it. They looked like they'd aged backwards by ten years, but they were Sans and Papyrus- they were little, and you could understand their emotions, but it was them- not a pile of goop.

It took you a little while to react.

You couldn't hold back the strangled sob as you grabbed both of them and hugged them so hard that your arms ached. They hugged you back, and you were soon sobbing as they held you very tight in their little arms.

“Sans, your pun made them cry!” Papyrus said. He sounded so cute, and he was so small. He was barely taller than Sans! You pulled them both away from you to get a good look, which was hard, because you were absolutely bawling.

Papyrus was half his height; he looked like he could be ten or eleven. Sans was little and his eyes didn't have dark circles under them, and they were shining so damn bright. Your heart felt like it might burst.

“You're alive,” you whimpered. “You... you aren't dead...”

“We just shrank!” Papyrus chirped before he went back in for an even tighter hug. “And got younger!”

You held his little body tightly while Sans shoved his hands in the pockets of his blue hoodie and grinned.

“Yeah, Alphys says our bodies didn't have the physical matter to go back to being full-grown. So we're mini.” Sans rocked forward on his feet. You had never seen him this happy- _you'd_ actually never been this happy, and you could feel their happiness adding to yours.

“And now we can all three hear each other! Or something, Sans, what is it? Telepanther?”

You laughed, even if it was more like a sob, and Sans snorted. “Telepathy, lil bro.”

“Yes! Telepathy! Is that neato or what?” Papyrus gave you a solid squeeze and it hurt like hell because of how beat up you were but it was the best pain you'd ever felt in your life. Sans threw his little bony self into the two of you and you all three hugged again. They were so small and real and alive and- and not dead.

“Y-you did something impossible,” Alphys said, and that was when you remembered that other people were in the room. You looked at her as she wiped a tear from her eye, then at Asgore, who needed a tissue, and then you turned and saw Toriel and Undyne watching from behind you guys.

“I did?” you asked.

“Hell yeah you did, you little shrimp!” Undyne shouted and she ran forward and slid on her knees and wrapped you up in an even bigger hug. Sans and Papyrus laughed. “And now we've got these two hellions back!”

“Yeah, Frisk! You saved us!” Papyrus squeaked from between you and Undyne.

You looked at Alphys. It had worked?

“They told us about Chara,” she said as she composed herself. “A-and about how strong they were. What you two did was... well... by any scientific m-measure, it was impossible!”

“I've never seen anything like it,” Asgore said softly, “and I am very old.”

You looked at them for a second before you stared down at the two skeletons. Both of them looked up at you with such joy. Sans was the first to speak.

“You created a soul,” he said, then he reached up with his tiny little hand and laid it on your chest. “You've got part, and I've got part, and Pap's got part.”

“It's like a miraculous soul pie!” Papyrus chimed in.

“Papyrus, that's n-not really... uh, well, technically i-it's true, but...”

“Shh!” Papyrus said to silence Alphys, who only covered her mouth as she giggled at him. “The soul got sliced into three pieces and now we all have part of it! And we can do telepateeth!”

You laughed as your tears started to dry. The initial shock was fading. It was being replaced with such a simple and primitive happiness.

“Telepathy, Pap,” Sans corrected, which earned him a little slap from his brother.

“You literally made a soul, Frisk!” Undyne chimed in as she released you from the death grip. “That's so amazing- you used your soul and how much you loved these two fuckers to make an entire flipping soul!”

“Undyne,” Toriel said gently, “don't use that kind of language in front of the children.”

Papyrus groaned, but Sans laughed at the joke. You did too.

They were alive. They were okay again. You were happy.

 

Days went by like minutes. The three of you were inseparable, and you knew it would be that way until you all died. You felt so good, because where before you had a condescending and hateful demon lurking in your mind, you now had Papyrus and Sans.

You sighed as all of you settled in for a movie. Squeezed onto the couch were you, Sans, Papyrus, Toriel, and Mettaton. The two brothers were on either side of you, because now they were small enough to curl up in your arms. Papyrus was shorter than you, and Sans was even shorter still. It reminded you of when they were fused, and how you'd sit between them and wish things could be different.

“Woo! I love this part!” Undyne shouted, and Alphys shushed her. They were sitting on the ground, with the scientist sitting on Undyne's lap.

“Is this anime?” Asgore whispered into your ear. He was sitting in a chair beside you, because he was large and didn't want his horns in anybody's way.

You laughed but shook your head.

 _“i ani-may need to leave if these people don't stop talking,”_ Sans's voice said quietly in your mind.

 _“SANS, YOU'RE AS BAD AS THEY ARE!”_ Papyrus scolded. He glared at his brother for a second, but Sans just smiled, and soon they were both back to watching the movie.

It was a movie about dragons and vikings, but you'd already seen it a few times, so you were content just to sit and watch while letting some of Papyrus's and Sans's initial feelings flow through you. It felt like you were seeing it again for the first time. It was good. Sans would send mental puns your way, which you would snort at.

 _“man, for somebody who just disowned his son, this guys a bit stoick,”_ Sans said.

You broke out into giggles, and that elicited a shushing from Undyne, Alphys, and Mettaton, who were all engrossed in the movie. You'd found it at the dump before any of the bad things had happened, and were just now getting the chance to watch it.

You sighed and leaned back. Both skeletons took that as a go-ahead to snuggle into you, and you held them with both of your arms and let out a deep breath.

All of your friends were alive. All of your friends were happy. Two of them might be smaller than before, and maybe they acted a bit more like kids, but they were happy, and god damnit that was all you cared about.

 _“frisk,”_ Sans thought. It wasn't to get your attention, or to ask a question.

 _“FRISK,”_ Papyrus thought. He cuddled up against you so that his head was resting on your shoulder. You gave it a little kiss, and you saw him smile.

 _“I'm here,”_ you thought. You could hear their quiet breathing, and all around you, your friends were content to sit and watch movies and be in each others company. Sans and Papyrus, no longer fused and suffering and scared, each let out a deep breath as you said it. They were safe. They were okay. They were going to be okay.

_“I'll always be here.”_

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of the story! Hooray! I was trying to cope with this headcanon myself, which meant a sad ending was NOT going to happen EVER. Thanks SO SO SO much to everybody who gave a kudos or commented or even just read it- I love you guys! You're the best, honestly, hmu on tumblr so we can be mutuals or something, send me your headcanons or art, it's theperfecta. Thanks again!  
> (yes they're watching How To Train Your Dragon, that movie means a lot to me and watching movies is just generally a feels-good thing to do with friends!!)  
> \--  
> To the person who was chanting for comic papyrus- not saying you SHOULD, but you MIGHT want to watch out for an addition to this 'series'... because I very strongly considered ending with the mega skele-bros fusion, but thought this way was more feasible by canon standards, and played out better. Other possibilities this way: Sans/Frisk fusion, Papyrus/Frisk fusion, and the unholy trinity of mischief, which would be all three. The possibilities!!


End file.
